Theater



' (Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

N.- W-ALDRON.

1 THEATER APPLIANGB. No. 245,895. Patented Aug. 16,1881..

UNITED STATI-3s PATENT Ormea.

NELSON WALDRON, OF New YORK, N. Y.

THEATER APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 245,895, dated August16, 1881. Application med .rune 22,1880. (Model.)

To all w/Lom it may concern Be it knownthat I, NELSON WALDRON, of

the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Theater Appliances, of which thefollowing is a specication.

My invention relates to appliances for theater-stages, in which there iscombined with the other, or one ofthe other movable stages', and it alsoeffects an economy ot" space upon the stage Ot' a theater.v y

Such a system of movable stages is necessarily of great weight; and theobject of myinvention is to so apply the mechanism for raising,lowering, and balancing the stages that they may he quickly raised andlowered-by a small amount of power.

The invention consists in the combination, with a stage proper, of twoor more movable stages arranged one above the other, ropes connected tothecorncrs or sides of said mov'- able stages, sheaves or pulleys overwhichjsaid ropes pass, a saddle to which said ropes are connected, arope connected to said saddle, and a drum over which the last said ropepasses, and by the rotation of which the movable stages are raised Orlowered. v The invention. alsoiconsists in the combination, with saidstages, hoisting connections, saddle, hoisting-rope,'and drum, ofcounterweights, which 'are connected with said parts In the accompanyingdrawings., Figure. lI represents a vertical section through atheater-stage and a side view of two movable stages and hoistingmechanism for raising and lowerin g the same. Fig. 2 represents a planthereof. Fig. 3 represents a side view of the hoisting mechanism, andFig. 4 represents a plan thereof.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

A designates the stage proper. B and C` designate, respectively, twomovable stages, ar-

-ranged one above the other, and constructed with corner-posts B,connecting said stages. The openings in the tloors through which thestages pass are preferably furnished with friction-rollers a.,whichproperly guide the stages and diminish the friction caused by theirmovement.' The movable stages B and C, being connected with suitableraisin g, lowering, and balancing mechanism, maybe raised and lowered,and while an act is being played upon one stage the scenery may bearranged upon the other. Although but two movable stages are here shown,three, or indeed more, might be employed. y

To each of the four corners or sides of the movable stages is attached ahoisting-connection. The ropes b in the present example ot' my inventionform these hoisting-connections, and pass Vupward over sheaves orpulleys E,

set at dierent angles, as clearly shown in Fig.

2, and thence downward to asaddle, F, to which allot' said ropes areconnected by Ameans lof rods or by ropes c. (Shown in Fig. 3.) In lieuot' this arrangement, however, rods or ropes forming hoisting-connections might be attached to opposite corner-posts upon eachrsideof the stages, and connected to each other by a bridle, to the middle ofwhich a rope might be attached, whereby two ropes would'extend to thesaddle instead of four, asnow shown. Cony nected to this saddle is ahoisting-rope, d, which is attached to a hoisting-drum, G, bythelrotation of which the stages are raised and lowered.

It is obvious that as the four corners of the stages are connected tothe saddle and a single hoisting-rope employed, the corners ot' thestages are raised simultaneously, and all-binding or canting isobviated. l

The weights for balancing the movable stages might be connected to eachof the four IOO corners of the movable stages by independent ropespassing over independent sheaves or pulleys; or they may be connected tothe saddle F or,`if desirable, and as here represen ted, a portion ofthe weight may be balanced by the corner weights and the remainder by aweight attached to the saddle.

To the corners of the stages are connected ropes I, which pass upwardover sheaves K, and thence downward to counter-weights L, each composedot' a number of separate sections, so that the weights may be readilyincreased or diminished.

From the ends of the saddle F are suspended rods or ropes e, to thelower ends of which the balancing-weight H, also composed of separatesections, is attached, and when this con-- struction is employed thehoisting-rope l may be passed several times around the hoistingdrum G,and thence downward, and connected to the balance-weight H. When soconstructed the hoisting is effected by the friction ot' thehoisting-rope upon the drum G; but the hoisting-rope might be secured inthe periphery of the drum.

The mechanism for imparting motion to the drum G consists, in thepresent instance, of a gear-wheel, I, arranged upon the shaft of thedrum G, and receiving motion from pinions f upon shafts g, which, inturn, receive their motion through gear-wheels h from shafts i, whichcarry cranks j and fly-wheels 7c for operating the hoisting mechanism.These parts are supported in suitable bearings in a frame or housing, J,which is to be connected to the wall ot' the building or other suitablesupport.

When movable stages are employedthetraps, borders, border-lights, andother stage appliances should be arranged upon or attached to thestages.

In this example of my invention the lower ot' the two stages B isfurnished with a trapioor, M, at a little distance below it, and theother stage might also be constructed with such a trap-floor. I haverepresented a large trap, N, and two quarter-traps, O, as arranged uponthis loor and adapted to be raised and lowered in guides n'by meansofropes o, passing over windlasses p, or otherwise suitably arranged.These traps may be furnished with counter-weights, so as to balancetheir weight.

P designates borders attached to both stages, and P designatesborder-lights arranged in proper relation thereto. The borders aresuspended, in the usual manner, by ropes or lines r, attached to theupper edges thereof, and passing over pulleys s to the side of thestages, where they can be readily reached from the ly-oors Q for thepurpose of adjusting the borders. The pipes 1?', which form theborder-lights, are all connected to an upright pipe, R, which isconnected at its lower end to the main gas-pipe by a iexihle tube, u, soas to permit of the rising and falling of the stages.

The movable stages are also constructed with the ordinary slots, sinks,and vother appurtenances for setting and arranging scenery, the same asa xed stage.

The movable stages thus constructed may be `so nearly balanced bycounter-weights that they can be readily raised and lowered and enablethe acts of a play or opera to follow one another without intermission,and the construction and arrangement of the raising, lowering, andbalancing devices is such that itenables a system of heavy stages,weighing from twenty-five to forty tons and upward, to be raised andlowered by one or two men.

I am aware that it is not new to employ in connection with the stageproper of a theater two movable stages which may be raisedor lowered tobring either of them into coincidence with the stage proper, and hence Ido not claim this, broadly, as my invention.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The combination, with a stage proper, ot' two or more movable stages,arranged one above the other, a series of ropes connected with thecorners of said movable stages, sheaves or pulleys over which said ropespass, a saddle to which the other ends of said ropes are connected,ahoisting-rope connected to said saddle, and a drum upon which the lastsaid rope is wound, and by the rotation of which the movable stages areraised and lowered, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the stage proper,

the movable stages, the ropes connected to the movable stages at thecorners, and the saddle to which said ropes are severally connected,ofthe counter-weight suspended from said saddle, and the drum and ropeby which the raising and lowering ot' the movable stages is effected,substantially as specified.

3. The combination ot' the saddle F, the counter-weight H, suspendedtherefrom, the drum G, and the hoisting-rope d, attached to said saddle,passing around the drum and thence downwardly, and connected to thecounter-weight, the whole arranged substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the movable stages B C, the ropes b, connected tothe corners thereof, the sheaves E, over which said ropes pass, thesaddle F, the hoisting-drum G, the hoisting-rope d, attached to saidsaddle and wound around or secured to the drum, the counter-weight H,and the independent counter-weights L, attached by independent ropes Zto the corners of said stages, all substantially as specified.

5. The combination, with the stage proper and a movable stage, of atrap-licor attached to and arranged below the movable stage, one or moretraps arranged upon said tloor, guides for said traps, and windlassesfor raising the traps mounted upon said floor, all constructed IOO IIO

